Keeping Me Grounded
by T'Key'la
Summary: For all Jim Kirk aggravates Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, there's no way he could survive without him. PWP. With made up Starfleet Academy rules purely as plot devices.


This is a pinch-hit entry for **Umbrellas_Can** for _Happy-Trekmas_ over on LiveJournal. Hope you like it!

* * *

"Why?" Dr. Leonard H. McCoy said when he finally got back to the shoebox the Academy had the nerve to call a dorm room. "Why do I find you in _my_ bed more often than in your own?"

Jim had heard this rant more than once and looked calmly back at his roommate across the small space that separated them. Bones was about to have a fit of epic proportions and whether or not Jim had been on Bones' bed, his own bed, or anyone else's bed, Dr. Leonard H. McCoy would have found something that was deserving of one of his infamous rants.

"I'm good. Thanks. How was your day?" Jim knew his response was as good as throwing gasoline on a fire but there was a fresh breeze at the edge of oblivion. And he did enjoy the view.

"My day?" Bones repeated like it was the vilest of curses. "My day? Which part of my day? The endless classes part? The endless shift at the hospital part? The three major research papers I have due in less than two weeks part? Or the two finals I have in five days? Finals I haven't had one free minute to study for? Which part of _my day_ would you like more fully detailed for your amusement?"

"At least Christmas break in is three weeks," Jim said cheekily.

"Well la-tee-fucking-da. What good does that do me? I'll still be here wondering why I ever said yes to that maniacal _Captain_ Pike. I'm going to bring him up on charges. I should have never been allowed to sign the enlistment papers when I'd been on a three day drunk. Who allows someone to enlist when they barely remember their own name?" Bones demanded, not for the first time.

"Speaking of Captain Pike," Jim said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and sitting up. "I had a meeting with him today."

"Oh Lord," Bones said, sitting down next to Jim and dramatically resting his head in his palms. "You're expelled, aren't you? I'm going to have to suffer through the next year and half alone. Trying to figure out what the hell fractals are and why I should give a damn."

"I am not expelled," Jim laughed. "He's my advisor. I'm required to meet with him at least once a semester. You know all the rules. Is that one you missed?"

"And since when did you start to care about any of the rules? If you do meet with him every semester, it's the only rule you bother to follow," Bones grumbled.

"I actually meet with him once a month. Something about a past pattern of behavior?" Jim laughed. "I don't know what they could be referring to. But there you go."

"Okay," Bones said, shaking his head. "Whatever."

"I happened to mention that you were working at the hospital again today. And would be there all weekend. Again. His face turned approximately the same shade as our uniforms," Jim said.

"What? Why?" Bones asked, wondering if he had violated some other rule he was sure he'd followed to the letter.

"He asked me how many hours in a week do you typically work. I said it was between 32 to 43. He called the hospital administrator and… well. Long story short…"

"You know I _loath_ that expression," Bones interrupted.

"To make a very long story much shorter," Jim revised. "You aren't working at the hospital again until next semester."

"What? You got me _fired?" _

"Stop. Listen. To. Me. Pike said cadets, even cadets who are already medical doctors, are allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours. Period. And you are never supposed to work both weekend days. You can work 6 hours _total_ on the weekends. That's all."

"What?" Bones repeated, sure Jim was speaking some foreign language. "I work two 8 hour shifts. Every weekend. The weekends I don't work 20 hours."

"And Pike reamed the administrator out for it. He knows he was taking advantage of you. And you never questioned the number of hours you were assigned. That's to your credit. But cadets can only work 20 hours in a week. In the hospital. In the cafeteria. In the science labs. 20 hours max."

Bones was speechless. If Jim had had his camera, he'd have recorded the moment for posterity. Because he was pretty sure it was the only time Bones had not had anything to say.

"Pike said you had worked almost five times the allotted hours. So you aren't allowed to work at the hospital until next semester. He'll keep track of your hours and make sure. You'll also be paid overtime for the hours you worked that you shouldn't have. A nice tidy Christmas bonus if you ask me," Jim said with a smile. That he wasn't gloating was a surprise to Bones because he so totally deserved to.

"You're sure? I'm not fired? And I won't be fired for not going in?"

"Check your schedule. Pike had you taken off while I was still sitting there," Jim said. "_And_ he called your professors. Two of your three major projects aren't due – _now_ – until after Christmas. You already have perfect grades in those classes so you'll get your A and when you turn in your assignments, well, you'll turn them in."

"What?" Bones said, sure he couldn't have understood. If this was Jim's idea of a sick joke, Bones would kill him. And make it look like an accident. He could do it. He knew all the ways it could be done.

"Pike was steamed. And he didn't understand why you didn't come see him about it." Jim held up one had when Bones started to respond. "I told him there was no way you could. You're either in class, in the library, or at the hospital. He gets that. He's not mad at you. He is mad at _me_ for not telling him sooner," Jim laughed.

"I can't believe you did this," Bones said, shaking his head.

"You are going to die of exhaustion at this rate. And I can't have that. I need you alive to be my CMO. I'm not trusting anyone else to make sure I don't die of some weird allergy I never had before."

"You are unbelievable," Bones said, staring into those blue eyes that had already charmed him. And that luscious mouth that felt so good under his. And that compact body that knew just how to move to make him wild with need. "This calls for a celebration."

"I should say it does," Jim laughed. "A naked one."

Bones shook his head at that, eyeing Jim in a way that made him hot and bothered in all the right ways. "Dinner first. You'll be dessert."

"It's 12:30 in the morning. We can't go out for dinner now."

"Pancakes and More is always open. I'll buy you waffles," Bones offered.

"With bacon? Without bitching at me?"

"With bacon. No bitching. Put on some jeans. Preferably yours," Bones instructed, exchanging his uniform for jeans and a heavy sweater.

"I can't wear your jeans," Jim said. "You have broader hips. Longer legs. A bodacious behind."

"Behind?" Bones repeated, shaking his head. "Are you five?"

"Maybe? 'Bodacious ass' doesn't have the same ring to it," Jim pointed out, caressing the ass in question, enjoying the swivel in Bones' hips at the touch.

"Stop. I'm hungry. There'll be time for that after we eat. Since I don't have to go to the hospital tomorrow," Bones said, quickly kissing Jim's mouth. "Thank you."

"It's what I do. It's who I am," Jim joked, kissing him again. "You sure you can't wait to eat?"

"I said I'm hungry. Come on, you slut. Bacon with no questions asked," Bones reminded him, dragging him out of their room.

~o0o~

They walked back to the dorm after they had put away an impressive number of waffles and a _lot_ of bacon. Since it was officially Saturday when they got to the restaurant, it was 'all you can eat' day. The restaurant considered canceling the _all you can eat_ offer, fearing that overworked, underfed cadets would eventually bankrupt them. But so far they had not made good on their threats.

The walk back was cold but pleasant with the bright stars shining down on them in approval. Bones was dressed in most of his winter clothes, providing protection to his 'thin Southern blood' as Jim always accused him.

"So we're staying here over Christmas break, right?" Jim asked, walking backwards to talk to Bones as they crossed the quad.

"Yeah. Jocelyn won't let me have Joanna. Not much point going to Georgia," Bones said, not sounding as bitter as he had the right.

"And I have _no_ desire to go to Iowa," Jim said with a dramatic shrug. "It's not like they're going to throw us out of the dorm."

"Lucky for us," Bones said. With so many non-Earth cadets attending Starfleet Academy, there was no way they could close the dorms for the particularly Human holiday coming up.

"We'll go see the Redwoods," Jim said with a smile. "And go to Hollywood to stalk some celebrities."

"I got no desire to chase any of those starlets you think are _so completely hot."_

"None are as hot as you," Jim assured him, his voice low and seductive, a tone only Bones ever heard. Not that Bones was delusion enough to believe that he was the only person who would ever occupy Jim's bed. But for now, _whatever_ it was they shared was good for them both. And Bones was not looking at it too closely because he knew examining a miracle was the surest way to have it evaporate before your eyes.

"Thanks," Bones laughed, swatting away Jim's hand as he reach out to attempt a public grope. "No PDAs in the quad."

"You really are an old man," Jim protested, laughing as he left the sidewalk to do a spontaneous series of cartwheels before righting himself to stand in front of Bones.

"It's 1 damn 45 in the morning. Don't your batteries ever give out?"

"Nope. Lucky for you," Jim said with his patented suggestive leer.

"Shut up," Bones said, no heat in the words. All the heat was in Jim's eyes and Bones' groin. Hot and getting hotter.

They made it to their dorm room much more slowly than Bones would have preferred but arrive they did. By the time their door was closed and locked, Jim was already down to his tidy whities, surprising Bones that he even had them on.

"Off," Jim said, pointing at all to the clothes Bones was still wearing.

"Give me a sec," Bones grumped, undoing, unwinding, discarding. "Now. Satisfied?" he asked when he too stood only in his briefs.

"Nope. All of it," Jim said, standing inside Bones personal space, which gave him access to Bones' body. Jim's hands slid into the back of Bones' briefs, Bones yelping as the cold flesh made contact with his skin.

"Jeez, kid. Can't you wear gloves like a normal person?" Bones protested.

Jim laughed, the air brushing over Bones' lips. "I guess," Jim whispered into Bones' mouth before kissing him hard. When they emerged from the kiss, Jim impatiently pushed down the briefs, leaving Bones bare and more than half hard.

"Now yours," Bones directed.

"Not yet," Jim whispered. "Come on." He drew back the covers on Bones' bed, guiding him to lay down. "Good," Jim said in approval, kissing Bones' mouth and licking inside to gather the flavors from his tongue.

"Take off your briefs," Bones requested. Begged. His hands were groping Jim's ass, wanting more.

"I will. Right now this is all about you," Jim said, straddling Bones, his knees snug up against Bones thighs. "I got this."

Bones considered protesting but changed his mind when he looked up at Jim's eyes that were devouring him. There was a hunger which was sometimes absent. More remarkably, it was mixed with tenderness and… love? Could that be right? He soon lost track of those thoughts as Jim touched him, caressing him with warm, certain hands, hands that traced his skin, tantalizing, skimming, loving. Jim's lips followed his fingers, kissing him lightly and heavily, marking Bones as Jim's. Not that he needed the pink and reddening splotches to prove that he was Jim's, body and soul. For all that Jim aggravated him, annoyed him, drove him silently mad, he belonged to Jim without question and without hesitation.

He had not yet said those three magic words to Jim but Bones figured it was just a matter of time. He had learned much about Jim, and himself, over the two and a half years they had shared their lives. And he couldn't imagine a future that did not include Jim. He only hoped when he admitted to his feelings, it wouldn't scare Jim away. Would he be content being a one-man-lover?

"Come back," Jim whispered as he stretched out full on top of him, warming Bones with his presence and his voice. "Don't think so much."

Bones smiled into Jim's neck, wondering again how he knew. But he always did.  
"I'm here," he whispered in Jim's ear before licking it. "Are you going to give me what I want?"

"That's the plan," Jim promised, kissing down his neck to feast on his collarbone. "Will you turn over?"

"You'll need to move," Bones reminded him, content to wait until Jim lay warmly beside him, still kissing him as Bones rolled onto his stomach, sighing in utter contentment when Jim paid the same careful attention to his back as he had his front. Jim lay over him again, Jim's cloth covered desire pressing into Bones' back. "I want you," Bones whispered. Begged. He lifted his hips in an effort to increase the contact, Jim lifting with him.

"I know what you need," Jim assured him. He reached back and slipped off his briefs, rocking against Bones and increasing the need they both were feeling. Jim kissed the back of Bones' neck as a finger entered his body, easing, preparing, loving. Bones moaned into his pillow, raising his hips in desire, refusing to consider how he had secured lube in the interim.

"Please," he moaned.

"Shh…shh…" Jim soothed, kissing his overheated face. He slipped easily inside Bones' body, giving him what they both wanted so badly.

"Oh lord," Bones moaned in relief and pleasure and fulfillment. As always, Jim knew just how to move, to touch Bones to make him forget anything else, to live fully in their moment, surrendering to the bliss and unknowingness of their joining.

Bones finally emerged, slowly opening his eyes to drink in the sight of Jim laying half next to him, half on top of him, the weight comforting and bringing a sense of peace to his mind and his heart. "I love you," Bones whispered in the ear closest to him.

"Mmm…" Jim sighed, his kiss-swollen lips curving into a lazy contented smile. "I know."

"God you're egotistical," Bones said with no heat to the words.

"Not. I know you do. Because I love you too," Jim told him, giving Bones everything he had ever wanted with those words.

"Good," Bones said with smile, kissing Jim's ear. "Now go to sleep."

"I was until someone decided to wake me up with his words of affection."

Bones laughed, kissing him again. "But you already knew."

"Yep," Jim agreed, smiling against Bones' skin.

~o0o~

A few months later, Bones had no choice but to sit in the auditorium and witness his best friend, his _way more than friend_ be accused of cheating on that damn test. It wasn't cheating. It was proving that there were no no-win scenarios in Jim Kirk's world view.

When Commander Spock threw those awful words in Jim's face, taunting him with the death of his father, it was all Bones could do not to go down to the front and give that Vulcan a piece of his mind. What in all that was holy was he thinking?

Then all hell broke loose and they rushed with the rest of the cadets to the hanger to board the shuttles, only to discover that Jim was grounded. "Academic suspension," the grey-suited Commander informed Jim. And Bones felt his heart sink into this Starfleet issued boots. That was ridiculous beyond reason. And there was absolutely no way Bones was going to warp out into space without Jim, without his anchor, the one who kept him going when more than anything he wanted to quit the Academy. No matter what they might discover when they reached the Vulcan system, he was not facing that or any future without Jim by his side.

"Come on," Bones finally said, when he had returned to where Jim was standing alone, trying to stay out of the way.

"What?" Jim asked, his blue eyes equally parts hopeful and confused.

"Just shut up and follow me," Bones ordered, pulling Jim by the arm.

"Was there any doubt?" Jim asked, doing as he was told in order to board the Enterprise by Bones' side. And Bones knew that no matter what the universe might throw at them, they would survive it as long as Jim was there to make absolutely sure.


End file.
